Q&A about CAI filters, longevity, Recharging and some DIRTY PICS!
 

Hello Camaro5 Community,

For those of you who read "Dirty Pics" in the title and clicked this thread, scroll down and you'll get what you came to see ;), now that I have your attention....

Some of the most common questions we get here, usually on a daily basis, are questions concerning the air filter on our CAI. I am going to take this opportunity to try and answer some of those questions for you, please understand that although many cold air intake filters are very similar, this information is only intended to pertain to our brand of air filters.

Q: Are your air filters dry or wet (oiled)?
A: All CAI Inc. filters are Lifetime use oiled air filters. Through extensive research and experience we have found that oiled filters offer much more performance, superior filtration, and better value to the customer.

Q: Do you use brand X (insert popular brand here) filters?
A: No, we pride ourselves on engineering and manufacturing our own air filters. Our filters are specifically designed for the vehicle and CAI they are sold for, ensuring that every opportunity to maximize performance has been utilized. You can learn more about our air filter design by watching the following video: http://www.coldairinductions.com/air...ers-in-action/

Q: Do I have to oil the air filter when I get it?
A: No, all CAI Inc. filters come pre-oiled from the factory and are ready to use right out of the box.

Q: My filter looks dirty, do I need to throw it away and buy another one?
A: No, one of the key advantages to our oiled filter is that it is intended for lifetime use and never needs to be replaced, and can be maintained with a CAI Inc. Recharge Kit.

Q: What is a Recharge Kit?
A: A Recharge Kit includes a bottle of cleaning solution and a bottle of filter oil, these are the 2 things used to clean and rejuvenate your air filter.

Q: What if I don't want to recharge my filter myself?
A: CAI Inc. sells replacement air filters that are pre-oiled and ready for use should you choose to replace your filter rather than recharge it yourself.

Q: Can a cleaning or "recharge kit" from another company be used?
A: No. I don't know exactly what is different between other companies oil and the oil we use, but I can tell you from first hand experience that other companies oil does not always properly soak into and dry into our filter pleating. Use of another companies Recharge Kit can ruin your air filter, not properly dry into your pleating causing issues, and will void your warranty of our product.

Q: How many times can your recharge kit be used on a filter?
A: Generally speaking you will get 2-3 Recharges out of one kit.

Q: How often should I clean (recharge) or replace my air filter?
A: This is by far the most common question we get, and unfortunately there is no exact answer or a magic number of miles your filter will give you before requiring a recharge. These filters have 8 layers of interwoven cotton fiber pleating, and can take a lot of wear and tear before filtration and airflow becomes effected. Driving conditions differ all over the country in terms of dust and debris levels, so everyone's filter ages at a different pace.

On average, most customers do not need a recharge/replacement for 25k miles or so, again it could be less or more depending on where you drive at. Generally speaking, if the filter was getting so dirty that airflow is being effected, you would notice a difference in performance and fuel economy.

If you race your car (legally of course), then perhaps you want to recharge or replace your air filter more often to be absolutely sure that your filter is performing at its peak level of performance. For those of you participate in car shows where your filter will be seen by judges, some choose to have a filter for shows and another filter for driving.

That being said, a visual inspection and some common sense goes a long way with determining when your air filter is in need of a Recharge. Lets take a look at some images for reference:

Here is a new filter next to a filter with approximately 100k miles on it. The filters shown in the photo are not off a Camaro, but they are they same design and style oiled cone filters, just some different dimensions. These are both CAI Inc. air filters:



http://www.camaro5.com/forums/images.../wol_error.gifThis image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1024x764 and weights 103KB. http://www.camaro5.com/forums/images.../wol_error.gifThis image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1024x764 and weights 103KB.http://i755.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps507bf0cb.jpg

I think the difference between the 2 is pretty clear, however lets take a closer look. Notice the highlighted area in the picture below shows an area of the air filter where the valleys in between the filter pleating is completely clogged with debris. The more debris clogging the filter like this, the less air the filter can pull, and the more restriction it will cause. Since airflow and reducing restriction is a crucial part of your CAI optimizing performance, recharging or replacing this filter will fix this problem. Although the filter is still pulling air and doing its job filtration wise, common sense would tell you that removing this debris, cleaning the filter, and re-oiling it will greatly improve airflow.

http://i755.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps0f126095.jpg


Up close on a clean air filter, as you can see the valleys in between the filter pleating are obviously completely clear of debris, allowing for optimal air flow.

http://i755.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps681b1c70.jpg

Q: How do you use a recharge kit?
A: **Before starting ensure to use the proper safety precautions such as gloves and safety glasses**

Step 1. Remove filter - Remove the filter from your vehicle and ensure that no dirt or other debris enters the intake tube while the filter is off.

Step 2. Pre-Clean - Using your hand and/or compressed air (no more than 100 psi using a standard air nozzle) remove the larger visible debris from the outside of the filter. When using compressed air keep the nozzle at least 6” from the filter media.

Step 3. Clean - Spray the outside of the filter with the supplied CAI Inc. cleaning solution until the entire outer filter media is evenly saturated. Allow the filter to rest so the solution can soak in for 15 minutes.

Step 4. Rinse - Rinse the Filter with warm water by running the water from the clean side of the filter thru to the dirty side of the filter, so that the water can flush the dirt out and off of the filter.

Step 5. Dry - Allow the filter to air dry naturally. (DO NOT use heat sources in attempt to dry the filter faster as this may damage the filter media fibers and/or shrink them.)

Step 6. Oil – Once dry, apply the supplied oil solution to the outside of the filter media using 1 spray for every 2 square inches of filter media. DO NOT OVER OIL, RECHARGING YOUR AIR FILTER WILL NOT BRING IT BACK TO ITS ORIGINAL COLOR.

Step 7. Dry – Allow oiled filter to dry for a minimum of 1 hour so the oil can soak into and “recharge” the filter media. You should be able to handle the filter without the oil coming off on your hands, once this is the case your filter is ready to be reinstalled, if oil is still coming off on your hands when handling the filter allow it to dry longer. A drying period of 24 hours in a well ventilated area is recommended.

Step 8. Reinstall – Properly reinstall your recharged filter and make sure all connections are tight.

I hope that this answers your questions regarding our air filters, longevity, and maintenance using a CAI Inc. Recharge Kit. If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to ask and I will do my best to supply you with an answer. Thank you to all who support our company and brand, we appreciate it very much!

:thumbup:

Bump for the PM's I have been getting.